Red Bull contradicts Perez: 'We want them both at the front'.

Red Bull responds to criticism Perez

Perez feels that during this season the RB18 has been developed in a direction that does not suit him. According to the Mexican, the car does not feel like it did at the start of the season. Chief engineer Monaghan stressed in an interview with Formel1.de Monaghan that the team is not focused on making a better car for Verstappen. The changes that have been made are part of a planned process.

It has been difficult enough to develop the car properly within the constraints of the tight rules this year, so if Red Bull can see that the car can be improved for a good sum, it will be done without too much mumbling. Monaghan: "Maybe his [Verstappen] set-up was a bit better than Checo's. It's just not as if the parameters are fixed and Checo can't change the set-up to his liking." Monaghan seems to be insinuating that Perez can also take matters into his own hands by perfecting the set-up.

De-escalation within Red Bull

According to the engineer, there is also no logical reason to give Perez the disadvantage of a less suitable car: "We are targeting both titles and ideally we should then have both cars for Ferrari and Mercedes. We are doing everything we can to get them both there." Red Bull is certainly willing to make the car more to Perez's liking, but it has to be within their healthy means.

Monaghan notices a small fight within the team and calls on the team to stick together. Red Bull's fight is mainly with rivals Ferrari and Mercedes and now there is also a fight within the team. The engineer sees the rivalry between Verstappen and Perez as a challenge that the team needs to solve and support both drivers as much as possible.